Tag Archive | cookbook

Just to keep myself honest with getting back to healthier eating, I’m going to try to get back to posting menu plans and recipes… I’ve tried so many new ones over the past few months, there is a lot to share!

I did receive 3 new cookbooks for Christmas. I had actually asked Santa for “Straight From the Earth” (by Myra & Marea Goodman) and so far I have enjoyed both recipes I tried. I have to admit, however, that both were a bit more time consuming than I would prefer, especially on a week night. So I’ll save those for days that I have a little more time to cook.

Over the weekend I made Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce. My only modification was to reduce the olive oil. The dish was quite tasty, but I have made a similar dish from Forks Over Knives (Mushroom Stroganoff) that I liked just as much with, seemingly, less work — and no oil. I will admit to using regular sour cream in place of the tofu sour cream in the FOK version, but that’s only because I’m intimated by tofu. (I definitely need a class!)

The second recipe I tried from this particular book was Baked Falafel Pitas with Chopped Greek Salad and Roasted Cashew Sauce. I should have guessed by the long name that this was going to take a while…3 separate pieces. None of hard, but collectively longer than I would spend on a school night meal. This one had a few modifications, mostly just to reduce the oil. Next time I try this one, I am going to try for a complete elimination of the oil. I also did not bother to roast either the cashews or the pine nuts.

Chopped Greek Salad: I eliminated ALL the oil and didn’t miss it. I actually enjoyed this and would eat it as a side salad just by itself.

Roasted Cashew Sauce: I clearly didn’t realize this part called for 1/4 cup of oil. Yikes, that’s a lot of nutrient free fat! Because I was afraid of ruining the consistency, I reduced it to a 1/8 cup. But next time I think I would eliminate completely and see how it goes.

Falafel: Again, I eliminated the 2 tablespoons of oil in the mixture, and I did not grease the pan (I used a Pampered Chef stone and had no issues with sticking. Use parchment if needed, but skip the oiled pan.)

I actually really, really enjoyed these! Plus leftovers for lunch!

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Tonight I opted for quick and simple, borrowing from fellow McDougaller and recipe creator extraordinaire, Michael Klunker. He’s got a slew of great recipes on his site, Klunker’s Kitchen. I love a recipe where you throw everything in one pot and just cook. Easy clean up, easy prep. For his Insanely Easy Potato Corn Chowder, I love that a few of the ingredients were frozen, so that makes prep even easier. Limited chopping (potatoes, carrots, onion and celery), one pot, 13 minutes in the Instant Pot, and a quick spin of the immersion blender, and this was done in short order.

The soup was delicious as is! I think my only tweak for my personal taste is a bit less onion and I would add some more corn. Enough for 3 for dinner, plus leftovers! When you check out this recipe, you should see what else Michael has on his page. Would love to hear if you find any others you enjoy!

It was quite the weekend of fireworks for us this weekend! Friday we traveled to visit family and friends in western Pennsylvania and, after the 2+ hour parade down Main Street, shivered our way through fireworks there. Saturday we returned home and attended fireworks at our school’s football field. It was slightly warmer, but still pretty chilly.

And then last night we had our postponed Crystal Band concert in a nearby town square. The concert was great (I think our best concert of the season) and it was actually pretty warm for the fireworks. Seemed to get a little warmer each night.

With all these Independence Day celebrations came some bad eating. While managing to stay vegetarian (and just a tad shy of vegan), it wasn’t all good. Lots of fried foods and lots of sugar. (French fries. Funnel cakes. Cookies.) Luckily, I managed to keep my weight flat, but my stomach felt awful. After you’ve been eating healthy, all that junk food is even worse. I can’t believe that’s the stuff that I ate every day. Today it was back on track ~ my digestive tract is so grateful!

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I finally finished reading (yes, reading) the McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. I have tons of pages earmarked and can’t wait to try them all! I found the supplementary information in between recipes quite thought-provoking as well. I definitely recommend this cookbook! I’ll be sure to share the recipes as I try them out.

I find that when I’m angry or sad, I channel my feelings into housework. Cleaning, cooking, anything to burn off those negative feelings. So yesterday, I opted for some painting. I had purchased paint and accessories in early February to re-do Ethan’s bathroom. Needless to say, I never quite got to it during February and yesterday seemed like a good day to get that done. Painting is very therapeutic for me — physical, and relatively mindless.

I had asked Ethan for permission to do it, since I didn’t want to add more change to his life if he wasn’t ready for it. Luckily, he said “go for it”. I wouldn’t tell him what color I bought, since I wanted the new look to be a surprise, and it was driving him crazy. I opted for a medium gray for the color and needed to do two coats of paint. That took most of the day. I got a deep royal purple shower curtain and a cool decal kit to make a tree on the wall. I finished everything today and I think it looks great! (Photos below.)

When Ethan saw it, he said “Oh. My. God.” I’m thinking he meant it in a good way! 🙂 He did think it looked much more “grown up”.

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My sister-in-law, Sandy, and I are determined to keep my Mom’s baking tradition alive. I went fairly easy today with my first apple pie. Yes, after all these decades of baking with my mother, I have never baked an apple pie. Mom didn’t have a recipe for said pie, so I got one from my other sister-in-law and it is currently in the oven. Stay tuned for how that goes…

Sandy was much more ambitious, working on both pierogies (making over 100) and sugar cookies. Several years ago, I had made cookbooks of my mom’s best recipes for each of us (me and my two brothers). Those books were done on Shutterfly and are treasured books now. I highly recommend doing this for your own family recipes. This will ensure that all the family recipes continue on (the book also features recipes by my grandmother and several aunts). I look forward to sampling the pierogies tomorrow. Sandy and I both want to make sure our holiday traditions continue, so I look forward to trying my own hand at that family comfort food.

There is strength within the sorrow, There is beauty in our tearsYou meet us in our mourning, With a love that casts out fearYou are working in our waiting, Sanctifying usWhen beyond our understanding, You’re teaching us to trust

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get serious again about cooking! While I’ve behaved fairly well the past few weeks, there have been a lot of fast meals and a few too many Christmas cookies. I received Happy Herbivore’s newest cookbook “Light & Lean” for Christmas (another great gift selection by my hubby) and I have to say, I’m loving the recipes.

So far, I’ve made Irish stew, garden chili and corn bread. All are vegan dishes, easy to make (unless you count chopping veggies), and absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try other recipes and definitely recommend the book. There are some work out plans in the book, too, but those will wait for another day.

I’ve made great use of my new cast iron Dutch oven with the stew and chili. I just have to figure out how to make room for all this new stuff in my kitchen…. Time for some serious purging and reorganizing during January!

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In terms of New Year’s resolutions, it’s really more of the same from 2013… clean eating of a whole, plant-based foods. Move more. And continue to look for ways to improve and maintain my health. Ultimately, it’s all about trying to remain cancer-free.

Other than that, it’s just the usual stuff… Yes, I’d love to lose 10 more pounds. I want to declutter, organize (see kitchen c omments above!), and contribute as best I can to world peace. I vow to spend more quality time with my family, make an effort to see my friends more, and deepen my faith.

I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I will succeed sometimes, and other times I will not. But that is life and we certainly must all give ourselves a break. After all, stress can take its toll on our health. I try to do the best I can each day, and look at each new day as a new beginning.